Warrior Dash 2012 - More Fun Than People Should be Allowed to Have

So if you follow my blog, you know that I started running last December. I've been slowly progressing, and have run a number of 5ks. I try to sign up for races that will motivate me and be fun, not just grueling. I don't know who suggested it originally, but I signed up for the Warrior Dash early this summer.

For those of you who may not know, the Warrior Dash is a 5k, with an obstacle course built into the middle of it. It is known for mud, and racers getting completely covered and filthy. It is a huge national race that is held in many cities, all over the country, with the proceeds benefitting the St. Jude foundation. Good cause to get dirty for, right??

The race was this Saturday, and my cousin Amy drove from New York to join us. Here we are at the beginning of the race...clean. (I'm on the far right).

The waves of runners started every 1/2 hour. The race started out easy enough...3/4 mile of normal running...but then...the first obstacle.

It was a sea of old tires on the ground, leading up to a row of junked cars. You had to maneuver through the tires, and up over the cars. Tricky, but fun.

Then came the climbing. The walls were high...some as high as 20 feet. With just a rope, a few foot holds and your friends cheering behind you. We army crawled under barbed wire. We clambered up sand hills, and through mucky, smelly water in the woods. We jumped over rows of fire. And then...came the mud.

The last obstacle was a 15 yard crawl through soupy, thick mud. But there was that darn barbed wire again above you, so you had to get on your hands and knees, and wade through it.

Here we are at the end. Not looking quite the same are we??

It really was a lot of fun. Fantastic ego boost. Wonderful way to support and encourage friends to push through things they think they can't do. I loved it.